Democrats say EPA illegally canceled hundreds of grants aimed at boosting 'environmental justice'

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Democrats say EPA illegally canceled hundreds of grants aimed at boosting 'environmental justice'

2025-03-26 05:05 Last Updated At：05:11

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency illegally canceled grants worth more than $1.5 billion focused on improving the environment in minority communities hit hard by pollution, Senate Democrats say.

Hundreds of grants were awarded by former President Joe Biden's administration under a 2022 law that directed the EPA to spend $3 billion on grants to help low-income and minority communities improve their air, water and protect against climate change. Those environmental justice efforts were a major priority under Biden.

President Donald Trump's administration, however, has cut funding, grants and people focused on environmental justice. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced March 10 that that he was canceling more than 400 “DEI and Environmental Justice grants” totaling $1.7 billion. In a post on X, Zeldin said the cuts were the fourth -- and biggest -- round of EPA/Department of Government Efficiency cuts.

All nine Democrats on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works signed the letter to Zeldin dated Monday. It demands information from the EPA about the terminated grants and eliminated environmental justice employees, and asks the agency to explain its plans to “combat pollution specifically in marginalized communities.”

“The vast majority of the targeted grant awards were made using funds appropriated by Congress with a statutory mandate that they be distributed to disadvantaged communities,” according to the senators’ letter.

The senators also accused the EPA of violating court orders and rules for terminating grants.

An EPA statement said the terminations will not stop.

“We have received the letter and will respond through appropriate channels. As the Trump administration reins in wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars, EPA will continue terminating assistance agreements in line with terms and conditions,” the statement said.

An internal EPA list of the roughly 400 grantees that was shared with The Associated Press detailed the cuts.

They included a wide swath of recipients for clean air and water initiatives. The Childhood Lead Action Project was granted $500,000 for a lead poisoning prevention program. Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice was granted $474,000 for a community air quality system, while the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was granted $1 million for a pilot project in communities affected by PFAS contamination in drinking water, as examples.

To carry out the spending in the Inflation Reduction Act, the agency funded several environmental justice grant programs during the Biden administration. Community Change Grants, for example, focused on community-driven projects for places “facing legacy pollution, climate change, and persistent disinvestment,” per the EPA.

"Unsurprisingly, the illegal termination of these grants puts communities at risk and does nothing to lower costs for families," said Delaware Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat.

Trump signed an executive order overturning decades worth of environmental justice policies and purging DEI efforts from the government. Zeldin has in turn dismantled the Biden administration's climate program and environmental justice work.

“EPA continues to work diligently to implement President Trump’s executive orders,” Zeldin has said.

For example, the agency directed a bank to freeze $14 billion in funding spent during the Biden administration on a green bank to finance climate-friendly projects — a program authorized by Congress. Zeldin accused the nonprofits administering the program of mismanagement and self-dealing and terminated the grants. That move was paused by a federal judge who said the government’s accusations of fraud were “vague and unsubstantiated.”

Senate Democrats are pushing back against the Trump administration's effort to withhold congressionally authorized spending, called impoundment. They argue Zeldin is violating a promise he made during his Senate confirmation hearing to follow the law.

“The illegal termination of these EPA grants not only violates congressional appropriations law, contractual agreements, and multiple court orders, but it also undermines essential programs aimed at eliminating childhood lead poisoning, reducing toxic air pollution, and mitigating health risks from heat and wildfires,” said Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the committee.

The Washington Post was first to report on the letter.

Last year, the EPA changed the terms and conditions for its grants, eliminating its ability to do policy-based cancellations. An internal EPA Office of General Counsel email obtained by Senate Democrats and provided to The AP says that even though EPA officials knew some grants had this updated language, they were terminated anyway.

Phillis reported from St. Louis and St. John reported from Detroit.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

Myanmar's earthquake death toll jumps to over 1,000 as more bodies recovered from the rubble

2025-03-29 14:11 Last Updated At：14:21

BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar jumped to over 1,000 on Saturday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of the scores of buildings that collapsed when it struck near the country's second-largest city.

The country's military-led government said in a statement that 1,002 people have now been found dead and another 2,376 injured, with 30 others missing. The statement suggested the numbers could still rise, saying “detailed figures are still being collected.”

Myanmar is in the throes of a prolonged and bloody civil war, which is already responsible for a massive humanitarian crisis. It makes movement around the country both difficult and dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears that the death toll could still rise precipitously.

The earthquake struck midday Friday with an epicenter not far from Mandalay, followed by several aftershocks including one measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude. It sent buildings in many areas toppling to the ground, buckled roads, caused bridges to collapse and burst a dam.

In neighboring Thailand, the quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, home to some 17 million people — many of whom live in high-rise buildings — and other parts of the country.

Bangkok city authorities said so far six people have been found dead, 26 injured and 47 are still missing, most from a construction site near the capital's popular Chatuchak market.

When the quake hit, the 33-story high-rise being built by a Chinese firm for the Thai government wobbled, then came crashing to the ground in a massive plume of dust that sent people screaming and fleeing from the scene.

On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought in to move the tons of rubble, but hope was fading among friends and family members of the missing that they would be found alive.

“I was praying that that they had survived but when I got here and saw the ruin — where could they be? In which corner? Are they still alive? I am still praying that all six are alive,” said 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek, sobbing as she awaited news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site.

“I cannot accept this. When I see this I can’t accept this. A close friend of mine is in there, too,” she said.

Waenphet Panta said she hadn't heard from her daughter Kanlayanee since a phone call about an hour before the quake. A friend told her Kanlayanee had been working high on the building on Friday.

“I am praying my daughter is safe, that she has survived and that she’s at the hospital,” she said, Kanlayanee’s father sitting beside her.

Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance.

A 37-member team from the Chinese province of Yunnan reached the city of Yangon early Saturday with earthquake detectors, drones and other supplies, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Russia’s emergencies ministry dispatched two planes carrying 120 rescuers and supplies, according to a report from the Russian state news agency Tass.

India sent a search and rescue team and a medical team as well as provisions, while Malaysia’s foreign ministry said the country will send 50 people on Sunday to help identify and provide aid to the worst-hit areas.

The United Nations allocated $5 million to start relief efforts. President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. was going to help with the response, but some experts were concerned about this effort given his administration’s deep cuts in foreign assistance.

The Trump administration's cuts to the United States Agency for International Development have already forced the United Nations and non-governmental organization to cut many programs in Myanmar.

AP writers Jerry Harmer and Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report.